Dogs react to a person's gender...fact or fiction? (shepherd, shih tzu, poodle)
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I knew of two people when I was in my late teens/early twenties that had dogs. One was a smaller black poodle and the other was some smaller breed that has an underbite. These dogs NEVER warmed up to me when I would go over to the owners' houses. They barked, snapped, hovered close to their owners, or went under the bed.
I was told "they don't like guys." The poodle was a female and the underbite dog was a male. The owner, in one case, added that the poodle was abused by its prior owner, a male.
We had a female Australian Shepherd that we got at eight weeks of age. She was closest to me (I held her on the way home when we bought her) and then to my Dad (who walked her and took her on car rides). However, she, too, calmed down sooner around females who visited and it took a little longer for her to warm up to males who visited the house...part of the problem is that some of my friends would make lunging motions at her to provoke her to bark. (One of those people was probably the biggest jerk I knew in HS and college). However, with some male friends that were mellower and sat down, she would let them pet her and might even jump up on their lap.
However, is it true to some dogs do not categorically like either men or women of the human species?
Some dogs seem genuinely terrified of men, and I think that usually is because of being abused by them, or maybe even teased badly like you described. Never, ever, let someone tease a dog like that. It's just asking for a dog to have problems with socialization.
Some dogs just have more of an affinity for one sex or the other. Lots of times it seems to be women. Men tend to be larger and louder with deeper voices, and I think that's part of it. They can seem a little more intimidating.
Sometimes dogs might prefer one sex over the other just because with the first people they knew, that sex spent more time with them or was more nurturing.
No. But they may like or be afraid of certain aspects that members of one sex on average exhibit more than the other. Some dogs are more nervous around taller people, males on average are taller than females. Males are typically socialized that it is ok to display certain behaviors more than females, aggression, loud, rowdy etc. They may be rougher or more physical with the dog. These behaviors can make some dogs nervous. There are also females who display these behaviors and can also make the dog nervous. A dog may have been abused by a tall person with a deep voice and generalizes that tall people with deep voices will hurt them. It does not matter if that person is male or female, although a much larger percentage of males will possess these traits than females.
However the only way to be certain if the dog was reacting to the persons sex would be to expose it to a person of each sex, same size, similar pitch voice and displaying the same body language. What is between the persons legs makes little difference to the dog. It is the behavior and body language that the person exhibits.
Dogs are just like people when it comes to having misgivings about a person's gender associated with certain other factors. It depends on one's previous experiences.
absolutly dogs can prefer (or dislike) gertain genders, this also goes for certain age groups, certain races, certain heights ect.
its all about what the dog associates that "type" of person with...
socilization socilization socilization.
an abused dog may associate the man beating it with other human men.
an undersocilizeddog may not be used to taler people, or people with deeper voices...
ect.
i have a frined who insisted her dog was racist because it loved everyone except black guys...
but the dog wasnt racist at all...its just hed never been around black men, therefore their skin color, face shape, vocal tone, build ect threw him off as unfamiliar.
another frineds dog HATES people with oriental type faces...whether they are oriental or not, its the face (and probably eye set/shape) that gets her going, she was abused as a street dog by a bunch of workers at a chinese resturaunt when they caught her in a trap and kicked it around...she ow associates that certain "type" with bad things...
the only thing that can help her now would be lots of positive socilization with people of that face type (and she has gotten better)
My dog, now 11, doesn't like any males over age 12....unless the male visits often and is kind to her. I adopted her at 10 months old. She's blind now so she's mellowed as far as nipping and some of her barking. But she still doesn't like men.
But, when she was younger and I wasn't home, my nephews would tell me she was fine when I wasn't around. She's territorial over me.
I've learned a lot watching The Dog Whisperer. Hopefully, my next dog will be better adjusted.
Dogs are just like people when it comes to having misgivings about a person's gender associated with certain other factors. It depends on one's previous experiences.
In my experience it does not even necessarily depend on previous experiences. It can be congenital.
We had an English mastiff, Elwood, from the age of 11 weeks, and he loved my husband. Elwood grew up being very, very suspicious of men he didn't know. After he got to know them, he was fine, but he was *very* touchy at first. Also, he did not like hats--on men.(Women were okay.)
None of this was based on abuse or anything like that, we had him from puppyhood and carefully socialized him. With time he gained more confidence, and the problem eased quite a bit.
Additionally, this dog absolutely adored little girls under the age of 12. He had several little "girlfriends." We could not go past her house or see her down the street without him wanting to say hello. Probably Elwood saw all new men as being a possible threat, and all little girls as innocuous buddies.
One of our mastiffs these days, Beau, is rather aloof with strange men, but nowhere near as uptight as Elwood was.
absolutly dogs can prefer (or dislike) gertain genders, this also goes for certain age groups, certain races, certain heights ect.
its all about what the dog associates that "type" of person with...
socilization socilization socilization.
an abused dog may associate the man beating it with other human men.
an undersocilizeddog may not be used to taler people, or people with deeper voices...
ect.
i have a frined who insisted her dog was racist because it loved everyone except black guys...
but the dog wasnt racist at all...its just hed never been around black men, therefore their skin color, face shape, vocal tone, build ect threw him off as unfamiliar. another frineds dog HATES people with oriental type faces...whether they are oriental or not, its the face (and probably eye set/shape) that gets her going, she was abused as a street dog by a bunch of workers at a chinese resturaunt when they caught her in a trap and kicked it around...she ow associates that certain "type" with bad things...
the only thing that can help her now would be lots of positive socilization with people of that face type (and she has gotten better)
This is hilarious. I will admit that I've heard the one about dogs and black people. If a dog hasn't had a bad experience with black people, why would it have a negative reaction? I didn't think dogs could pick up on someone's race.
However, is it true to some dogs do not categorically like either men or women of the human species?
Ummm...what other species of men and women are there?
I've never seen a case where a dog didn't like women, but I have seen several where the dog feared men. Children, no problem. But a grown man, yeah...I've seen a few. It's a fact.
We had a Shih Tzu that we got at 6 weeks. She did NOT like men. Except for 1, my Grandfather. She adored him as he did her. He was the only man though that she liked.
Our neighbor has a Chihuahua and he doesn't like men either. She said he had been abused by his previous owner who was a man.
Maybe it is from what some experienced from when they younger, but like I said we had ours since she was only baby a (6 weeks) so maybe it could be like people. You sometimes just connect with some people better than others regardless of gender and it just so happens with some dogs/cats it could all be the same gender that they like/connect to. Or maybe, I think someone said maybe it is the male deep voice they get scared of or something like that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by foxywench
i have a frined who insisted her dog was racist because it loved everyone except black guys...but the dog wasnt racist at all...
Wasn't something like that on a episode of the cartoon King of The Hill? That is what it reminded me of. (Hank Hill and his dog Ladybird)
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